Ask one of my students if they know who Martin Luther King Jr. was, they'll surely say yes. The same is true of the likes of Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman.
However, ask one of my students if they know who Katherine Johnson is, and you may be hit with a blank stare. Every year, black history month rolls around...and every year, the focus remains on the "big names," but black history does not end with MLK. As notable as he, Tubman, and Parks are, they are NOT the end-all-be-all when it comes to black contributions to our world.
As a science teacher, it would be unjust to let my scholars leave me without opening up their eyes to the many African-American men and women who have contributed to black history through science and engineering since the start of our nation, and even prior! One way that I can do this is by expanding my classroom library with these books.
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Ask one of my students if they know who Martin Luther King Jr. was, they'll surely say yes. The same is true of the likes of Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman.
However, ask one of my students if they know who Katherine Johnson is, and you may be hit with a blank stare. Every year, black history month rolls around...and every year, the focus remains on the "big names," but black history does not end with MLK. As notable as he, Tubman, and Parks are, they are NOT the end-all-be-all when it comes to black contributions to our world.
As a science teacher, it would be unjust to let my scholars leave me without opening up their eyes to the many African-American men and women who have contributed to black history through science and engineering since the start of our nation, and even prior! One way that I can do this is by expanding my classroom library with these books.
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